In 2007, Denyse has an opportunity to visit the Mount Lebanon Shaker Village in New York, prior to the restoration of the buildings. At Mount Lebanon, Denyse was able to experience the buildings in a state of disrepair, and loved the juxtaposition of their considered design with accidental, raw beauty of decay. Knocked-out doorjambs, random linear gashes in walls that exposed ribbons of lath, and cream-on-cream layers of patches in the plaster would visually translate into the minimal piecing design of these quilts. The quilting references 19th century whole-cloth quilts and cold-weather petticoats with very close lines of stitching. Denyse wanted them to feel simultaneously new and ancient.

This quilt is a queen, measuring 83" by 88". Linen, cotton/metallic, cotton and vintage silk, hand-quilted.